Malaysia purrs into action with plan to double rare tiger numbers

Published on Monday 22 December 2008 21:02

MALAYSIA has launched an ambitious plan to double its wild tiger population within 12 years, by protecting jungle corridors where poachers prey on the endangered big cats.

Activists said yesterday that the National Tiger Action Plan (NTAP) aims to have 1,000 Malayan tigers roaming in the wild by 2020.

Sara Sukor, a spokeswoman for Malaysia's branch of WWF, one of several conservation groups that helped the government to create the plan, said it is estimated that Malaysia's wild tiger population has fallen from 3,000 to 500 in the past 50 years, largely due to illegal hunting and the human encroachment and destruction of the tigers' natural jungle habitat.

Historically, the world's biggest cat has been revered in Malaysia as a symbol of strength and power. The country's royal crest portrays two tigers on either side of the coat of arms. Yet tiger meat is exported, served at exotic restaurants and used in traditional Chinese medicine. All of these acts are illegal under Malaysian law.

Even as recently as the 1950s, before concerns over the tiger's possible extinction had grown, authorities were still encouraging tiger-hunting. In 1976, the tiger was classified as a Totally Protected Animal under Malaysia's Protection of Wildlife Act, making it illegal to kill them.

The NTAP is the government's first concerted effort to reverse the population decline, instead of merely slowing it, according to the plan that was launched this month.

Government officials and conservationists will restore and manage key jungle corridors that connect tiger habitats, providing the animals with a wider territory and mitigating the impact of infrastructure, such as roads, railways and oil pipelines.

Under the plan, the government has also vowed to enforce its wildlife laws better, remove tigers from areas where they might come into conflict with humans and boost scientific research in tiger protection.

"We are optimistic that the plan will succeed with co-operation among all the agencies involved," said Ms Sukor. "We want to show that we are serious about wildlife protection."

Conservationists have long urged the government to step up wildlife protection, particularly by increasing penalties against poachers and smugglers of endangered species.

Such offences are typically punished by small fines without prison sentences.

Malaysia's tropical forests are home to a wide range of threatened animals, including orang-utans, Borneo sun bears, Sumatran rhinoceroses and pygmy elephants.

A 2008 report by Traffic North America shows that, despite efforts to combat trade in tiger parts, demand in other parts of Asia remains strong.

Substantial trade is done on the black markets – in China for skins and tiger bone wine, in Indonesia for bones, skins, claws and teeth, in Burma for tiger skins and in Vietnam for tiger bone gel.

As part of the legal tiger trade, a stuffed tiger carcase was imported into the United States from Malaysia in 2001.

Rare attacks by tigers on humans have raised fresh concerns over how the spread of plantation land into the habitats of endangered species, such as tigers, in Malaysia can increase the chance of fatalities. In 1999, Ghazali Abdullah yelled in horror as a tiger pounced on his ten-year-old son, who was screaming in pain.

"I was shouting 'Allahu Akbar!' (God is Greatest) and growling as I waved my hand to imitate a tiger," Mr Abdullah 41, said as he recalled the attack in the northern state of Kelantan at the edge of a palm oil estate.

Distracted by the father's shouts, the tiger released the boy, who lived to tell the tale after receiving 30 stitches.

Teoh Teik Hoong, the WWF Malaysia spokesman, said: "It's a known fact that we are developing a lot of land for agriculture and timber extraction. The tiger's habitat is reduced by land-clearing."

He added: "Perhaps with the economic slowdown there is extra pressure on land-clearing, because the government is encouraging agriculture."